The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-03

tural strength, intensity Of Imagination ana
absolute and unremitting wlckedness they
are unapproachable. IL Is, however, curl
ouSly enough an easy matter 10 see why the
| lies are told The difficulty of detecting the
difference between lady and IA woman vino
is not II Indy in New York Is at times beyond
all belief An adventures whoops things
up and raises the deuce and she appears III
public under the guise Of "a noted New
York lady, within n week IL does not seem
10 strike the casual observer of New York
life that Il lady here Is no different from
lady elsewhere. II is not the custom among
women Of good breeding, refinement and
high social position to get drunk in public
places, drive hacks ut midnight up Broad
way, smoke opium with bad actors IN
Bowery Joints" swim I'm public places clad
IN bathing suits that would startlc the Venus
dc Milo, gamble at crack clubs and sit on
the shoulders of their friends mt the races
smoking cigarettes and making more or less
liberal displays of their hosiery, 1t may
cause wave of startled resentment and
disbelief to sweep over the country ON learn
ing that New York ladies do not do these
things but the truth cannot be gainsaid. /
have read numerous and eloquent articles
about the gambling clubs devoted to women
in New York. Allurng and spectacular
pictures are drawn by the vivid pens of
clever writer's picturing magnillcently APP
pointed houses furnished in the most lavish
manner and devoted entirely to the gam
bling proclivities of the members of the club.
There are poker rooms, roulette tables,
baccarat faro layouts and SO ON. The Prcsi-
dent of the club is usually described as
woman of commanding and handsome pres
cnce with gray hair and aifable manners.
The walters are tidy and well-built young
women in club uniform, who carry seething
glasses of champagne around constantly ON
trays. The best society women of New
York are said to drive up TO these places,
gamble, drink, smoke cigarettes etc. After
they have lost given amount of money
usually placed at large and satisfactory
flgure-they reel out into the air again and
return to home and society. All of
which is the purest balderdash and rot.
do not claim TO know New York much bet
ter than any other man, but | have lived
here all my life and | have not restricted
myself entirely to church circles. Besides,
| have IL on the authority of men who are
individually well informed on such matters
that there is not "A womau's gambling house
in Now York outside of the queer little
japanese and Italian dens where ragpickers'
hays occasionally risk a few pennies ON the
cast of dice. Much the same order of men
daCity floats about concerning the opium
"ioints" of New York. My Imagination
became so fired by the voluptuous, ingenious
and taking pictures of New York society
women, in their luxuriant opium joints,
that | made II tour of all the opium places
in New York once, accompanied by cele
brated authority on the opium habit, and a
man who had large practice among slaves
of the drug, named DR.. Garrish. We had one
of the shrewdest detectives from the central
office with us. Whatmy two companions did
not knowabout the opium habit in New York
was not worth knowing. We spent three
nights ON the tour IL was n continual sue
CcSSion of revolving pictures, n nightmare of
sitting doors, and an uubroken series of
CHASTITY, unpleasant pictures. 1t was an ex-
perience shall never forget, for it had i'll 1t
more squalor, misery and beaStliness than
over expect to see again. We searched in
vain for the magnificent dives upholSter-
ed with Oriental magnificence, furnished
with superb Chinese divans, lighted by
grotesque and beautiful lamps, made soft
and noiselesS by rich rugs and managed by
Soft-fOoted and moon-eyed CeleStials, about
which SO much has been written, and where
it is said the society ladies of New York
give themselves over to the destinations of
the awful drug. The most prctentiouS place
that | saw during the tour was in the sub
cellar of Sixth avenue house. The floor
was carpeted and that is why it stood ont
in such striking magnificenCe and splendor,
as compared with the other places The
cuucheS were rough wooden hunks, the cell
ing low, hegrimed and sooty and the lack of
cleanliness something awful There were
seven or eight women lying around on the
hunks when we arrived and four or five
men were interspeiSed promiscuously among
them. Ii WAS about o'clock in the morn
ing. \ single light burned in the centre OF
the square room and the women lay III the
hunks around the four sides. All of them
had their gowns loOsened at the throat, and
they lay in positions of absolute languor and
indifference. Some had rolled over on their
backs, some lay heavily on their faces and
others were twisted up awkwardly III cor
ners Only two Of them were what might
he called decently clad. They wore the
flash icwelry and gaudy clothes of women
of the town II was said that this place
had the best class of smokers of and in New
York, and we went back in the afternoon
the detective and Ito have a look at more
of them. We found women who were better
dressed than the ones we saw that night,
and among them was rather well-known
actress and two women who drive magniti-
cent horses and make great show about
town They were all half deadened by the
drug, and as the Chinaman took his light
around and flashed il in their faces few of
them opened their eyes He evidently con-
Sidered them great SwellS, and even the de-
tective was more or less impressed by the
gorgeous attire of several of the devotees OF
the habit, hut it needed only a glance to
show that not u woman among them had the
faiuteSt right 10 the title lady nor the least
claim 20 reSptCtabilty.
The morphine clubs flouriShed for time
in the newspapers | not only never saw
one nor heard of the fact of their existence
in New York, but fail 20 sen any paTtic-
ullr reason why there should be a morphine
club in New York The stories that are
told about these magnificent PLACES where
women call several times a day 10 have NOR
phine administered 10 them by expert
physicians have les rason for existence in
the newspapers than half the other absurd
stories by which the names Of New York
women have been dragged into print and
into the mud at the same time There are
undoubtedly many wonderland men, too,
for that matter-who indulge in morphine
No man OF the world is ignorant Ot the cause
VI much Of the viVaCity and life that APP
pCarS SlaSInOdicalv in the eyes Of men and
women whose vitality has been sapp<d by
many intulgenCaS. and who brighten up
and sink into melancholy again at short and
abrupt intervals There Is NOT half as much
mystery about this Sort of thing as the
women themselves perhaps imagine. But
when II comes - regularly appointed
palaces whcye women ~ to take
morphine, it is pushing the limit little
too far
New York womer-and New Work ladies'
lndlScretlouS aud Wild eScapadeS 20 answer
for without Slddhns on them the o,iium Of
establishing regal and magnificent clubs